This invention relates generally to computer support, and, more specifically, to services for reporting and resolving support incidents.
When a computer user calls on technical support for help with a problem, a support specialist tries to develop an understanding of the problem by collecting from the user information stored on the computer. Unfortunately, this information collection process is tedious and prone to error. Users are generally unsure about how to gather the information. The information on the computer may be difficult to find, difficult to interpret, and difficult to recount accurately to the support specialist. Some information pertinent to the problem, such as historical information, may simply not be available. Once the information has been provided, the support specialist interprets it and then tries to guide the user through steps to fix the problem. The fixing process is beset with the same problems as the information collection process, however. In addition, if the problem is not immediately and completely fixed, or if the problem reappears in a different context, the user may have to call back and go through the whole process again. These difficulties frustrate everyone involved, vastly increase the cost of providing technical support, and hinder the user from getting the most out of his or her computer.
The present invention manages information about support incidents on a computer. The invention gathers information about a support incident, associates the support incident with a support channel, and collects current and historical information from the computer. Implementations of the invention may also package and send the gathered and collected information to a support vendor. The invention comprises methods of performing these tasks, systems that perform them, computer-readable media that contain computer-executable instructions that when executed perform the methods or provide the systems, and data structures stored on computer-readable media having fields that represent software objects useful in performing the methods or providing the systems.